photo sighting by a photographer who prefers to remain anonymous

One of the UK underground's most fascinating groups, the sci-fi extreme metal quintet, Wallowing, are celebrating the release of their mighty new album Earth Reaper, out today 28th April via Church Road Records.

Watch 'Earth Reaper' here: https://youtu.be/uSSUMokZI7U

Order and stream the album here: https://bfan.link/earth-reaper

The band comment: "Earth Reaper is our magnum opus. Harnessing the influence of retro-prog royalty such as Rush and Camel, we tried to take the listener on a heavy as hell journey through the wastelands of a dystopian planet, implementing musical motifs and rich soundscapes to mirror the lyrics and story behind the track & at points calling back and building upon story beats and sounds established on the first half of the record. This is not only our heaviest piece of music to date but also undoubtedly and unapologetically Sci-fi through and through. 

"EARTH REAPER IS NIGH."

Wallowing have also announced their Earth Reaper tour, with support from Still.

Tickets: https://lnk.to/EARTHREAPER-UK2023

Dates:

May 11: Birmingham Asylum 2
May 12: Newcastle Bobiks
May 13: Glasgow Garage Attic
May 14: Hull Adelphi 
May 15: Leeds Boom
May 16: Bristol The Gryphon
May 17: London New Cross Inn
May 18: Leicester Soundhouse

Labelled a must-see band in the flesh, the faceless Wallowing are as much a conceptual multimedia art project as a band. Known for their intense and atmospheric live show, endless smoke machine, duel lasers, all-black space suits, Wallowing have also released hand-crafted action figures, trading cards, an alternate reality game, and comic book.

Wallowing dive further into their sci-fi reality with the new video 'Flesh and Steel', the opening chapter to their second concept album, Earth Reaper. A sonic introduction to the band, the album, and one of the story's main characters; a mysterious outcast living amongst a group of unlikely and unearthly beings. Yearning to uncover the truth behind her own existence, the outcast makes a risky attempt to break free from her company and face the reality of the dead planet they reside on.

Continuing the themes on Wallowing's acclaimed debut Planet Loss (2019), Earth Reaper sees the listener diving into a bleak universe plagued by evil, oppressive rule. 

A tale of growth and discovery, an epic journey to uncover the real truth behind the dying planet, Earth Reaper is a tale of hope born from despair, influenced by real-world topics including the current political climate, racism and classism.

Written in two halves, the first six tracks of the album, approximately 22 minutes, is the prologue to the second half, the mighty title track 'Earth Reaper', itself 22 minutes. Instrumental and lyric motifs represent various characters and locations, seamlessly weaved into the endlessly-evolving doom-laden narrative. Needless to say, Earth Reaper is an intense experience - a heavily atmospheric and lovingly-detailed sonic journey akin to the most epic of film scores which have inspired it.

Such an immersive approach has seen Wallowing garner a strong following of dedicated fans, eager to escape. Finding their feet in the expanded metal and sci-fi communities throughout the COVID pandemic, the group have since toured the UK twice, performed internationally for the first time, released a split EP and re-released their debut in Asia via Gutless Productions.

In their time as a group, Wallowing have performed at Desertfest, Dreadfest, alongside Black Tongue and Wiegedood, and garnered early praise from Kerrang!, Clash, and Vice. Wallowing are also the first metal group to perform in a Waterstone's.

For more:
https://linktr.ee/WALLOWING

Tracklisting:

1:A WORLD WEEPING
2:FLESH AND STEEL
3:ECHOES OF THE OUTER REACHES
4:CRIES OF ESTIMA
5:OBLITERATION
6:CYBORG ASPHYXIATION
7:EARTH REAPER

Scottish rockers happydaze have today revealed their inspiringly triumphant new single 'Heaven You Felt', from their new EP, Full Free Radical, to be released 12th May via Thriller Records.

Premiered as Next Wave on Jack Saunders' Future Artists, you can watch the video to 'Heaven You Felt here: https://youtu.be/bzbCeSIHjLY

Pre-orders for the EP are available now. Pre-order and stream: https://orcd.co/fullfreeradical

happydaze's Luke Bovill comments: "'Heaven You Felt is about giving all you have to someone, and realising they don’t appreciate what you have done for them. It’s looking at someone you care about and realising the best path for you both is not the same as each others and how hard that decision is to make. It’s an honest song that I think anyone can relate to at some point in their life. 

"We spent the week leading up to releasing this song shooting the music video ourselves - filmed by our bro Arthur Piddington and edited by me. It’s our favourite video so far, we hope you think it’s as dope as we do!"

The passionate honesty throughout 'Heaven You Felt' lends the track a powerfully uplifting element - and yet another shade to this increasingly impressive band's work. 'Heaven You Felt' follows happydaze's previous singles '(Full Free) Radical', 'Faded' and 'Cool Blue', which have seen support from the likes of BBC R1, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, and more, and follows their highly successful 2022, including support tours with Boston Manor and Neck Deep. 

'Heaven You Felt' is produced by Mike Green (New Found Glory, All Time Low, Real Friends) and delivers on a huge sound, one which will surely see more fans turn to the happydaze fold.

The story of happydaze began in an abandoned barn, at a battle of the bands contest outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was there a 15yr old Luke Bovill (vocals) met Pete Bunting (drums) for the first time. Despite being competitors on the day the two kept in touch, always expressing a desire to one day collaborate and play together. Following the break up of bands and numerous creative relationships dissolving, early 2020 found the pair able to start something new. At this point Luke brought in college friend Rory Gault-Gordon (guitar) and at a later date Pete asked Adam Campbell (guitar) from the Edinburgh scene to join. It was here happydaze was formed.   
 
Shortly after the band came together, the upheaval and uncertainty of the global pandemic placed the world on pause. Despite the clear restrictions the band threw themselves into happydaze with a focus and enthusiasm that was immediately different from any of their previous projects. Luke remembers “Like everyone, we were unsure of how long we would be stuck in the house for, and we quickly realised we had the time to work on what we REALLY wanted happydaze to be. This ended up being months and months of zoom calls to write songs - me in my flat, Pete in the studio, which is fortunately round the corner from his place - going over every detail. 16 hour days in rooms with no windows, building something up from scratch. The band really gave us purpose in such uncertain times, and now that we have opportunities to share it with the world and hear how the songs resonate with people.”
 
Following the release of a series of singles in ‘21, the band’s debut EP Underground Summer Sound was released early ‘22. With the world opening up happydaze jumped straight into touring, playing their first headline shows in the UK to the fanbase they’d built during the past year. This was swiftly followed by a run opening for Neck Deep that also took them into mainland Europe for the first time, as well as further UK shows in the year with Between You & Me and dates with ROAM. Alongside the band continued to build their audience and pick up media coverage at Rock Sound, Kerrang!, Radio 1 Rock Show as well as Spotify editorial support at New Music Friday, All New Rock, Pop-Punk’s Not Dead and Misfits 2.0. 
 
Shortly after the release of the debut EP, their thoughts returned home, restless with plans for the next phase for the band. “Our studio space in Edinburgh is a renovated old house” - picks up Luke - “We have a sick community of bands around us in separate rooms, you can hear them through the walls and when you’re outside in the car park. We write & rehearse there, we’ve recorded there, shot music videos there. It really is a second home, for all of us.” In addition to their community, further international influences helped enhance the happydaze sound: “We had the privilege and time to have songwriting sessions with so many amazing producers and musicians - Matt Squire (Panic at the Disco, Good Charlotte), Mike Green (Sum 41, All Time Low), Sky Acord (Issues, Twenty One Pilots) - all of which has helped shaped our songwriting. Alongside we all appreciate and love electronic, emo-trap, soundcloud-pop-punk music. This has evolved to adopting elements of drum and bass, garage, lofi beats, anything we enjoy listening to we try to incorporate those vibes into our songs.”

Keep up with the band on: Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Full Free Radical Tracklist
1.    "Faded"
2.    "(Full Free) Radical"
3.    "Cool Blue"
4.    "Day in and Out"
5.    "Thinkinofu"
6.    "Heaven You Felt"
7.    "Same to Me"

UK-based extreme metal juggernauts Existentialist have unveiled 'Shrouded In Darkness', the third single / video from their new album, The Heretic, out today via Seek and Strike.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/7-FYebV0V3I

Stream the single and album here: https://linktr.ee/existentialist

Existentialist are forging their own unique path within the extreme metal genre and their new full-length album, The Heretic, is an exhilarating and fresh blast of blackened death metal savagery. This dynamic, young group perform well beyond their years and hover between a crafty balance of sheer blasphemous intensity and technical musicianship.

Existentialist commented on the album: "With The Heretic we wanted to create something epic that pushed our abilities. The Heretic is in essence a commentary on how religion is used as an excuse for people to do evil. The album's narrative is a journey I feel many have been on. The belief, the questioning, then breaking away, often the angst and Satanic fantasies, then finding the grey area and ultimately realising its always people who are at fault. People hide behind their gods as an excuse to do evil in the guise of a greater good. You can find many levels and meaning within the album's lyrics, despite its blasphemous track titles, the album has more of a 'live and let live' message. One could say that it is a more existential view on the idea of religion.

"We span the whole scope of extreme metal. The album has epic, emotional black metal elements, techy patterns, metalcore riffs, some doomey bits and a plethora of savage breakdowns. I think there's something in there for everyone who likes any corner of extreme metal. Metaphorically speaking, this entity represents anger and hatred, and how it will consume and corrupt.

"We started writing material for this album before we'd even released our debut album Prophet of Ignorance. It feels like we've been waiting a lifetime to release it and are so excited for people to hear it, start playing it live and see/hear the reactions. As a whole, we feel it is a huge step up from our previous work both in production and writing." 

Existentialist will next week head out on a co-headline tour with label-mates Draconian Reign across the UK. Dates:

May 04: London New Cross Inn
May 05: Nottingham Percy Picklebackers
May 06: Rotherham The Bridge Inn
May 07: Norwich B2, Brickmakers

The band continue: "The upcoming UK trek with our buddies and label-mates, Draconian Reign, is not to be missed. We're both symphonic deathcore, but from opposite ends of the spectrum, so we feel our two bands complement each other really well. You can expect an intense, atmospheric and emotional experience from every show."

Watch the video to previous singles:

'Embers Upon Calvary' featuring Jason Evans of Ingested: https://youtu.be/JoToVl7zMlM
'The Zealot's Demise': https://youtu.be/ldhEifPyFJA

Essex-based Existentialist are a five-piece blackened death metal band who are wholly cementing themselves as serious players in the scene. Their debut album Prophet of Ignorance, released in 2020, demonstrates the band's technicality, musicianship and above all, heaviness. The combination of the dark vocals, aggressive guitars, intense drumming and sinister orchestral sections creates a beautifully morbid blend of noise. The energy the quintet bring to their performances makes this band one not to miss.

Formed in 2015 by Jonny (guitar) and Olly (drums), they were later joined in 2018 by Phill (bass) and Sam (lead guitar). The line-up was completed in 2019 with the addition of vocalist Patty, allowing the release of the debut album Prophet of Ignorance in December 2020. A wide range of influences have helped the band to develop a complex sound, drawing from a variety of genres.

Existentialist are:

Patryk Kolasa- Vocals 
Jonny Flack- Guitars 
Samuel Berriman- Guitars 
Phill Morley- Bass 
Olly Winn- Drums 

For more:
https://www.facebook.com/ExistentialistUK
https://www.instagram.com/existentialist.UK
https://spoti.fi/3Y1avoM
https://existentialistuk.com

Photo Credit: VDPictures

The first ever German rock/metal Eurovision Song Contest representatives, Lord Of The Lost, have released an official music video for 'Destruction Manual'. The new visual shows the whole band embodied by women, with vocalist Chris Harms represented by Ukrainian erotic model and influencer Louisa Khovanski. The song was originally released on the band’s successful #1 charting album (Germany), Blood & Glitter.

Watch the video to 'Destruction Manual' here: https://youtu.be/ZzOI7lYhBmc

The new video arrives shortly before the Hamburg based unit leaves for Liverpool to present their song 'Blood & Glitter' at the Eurovision Song Contest in front of its total audience of 200 million viewers. The finals of the world’s biggest music contest will be broadcast worldwide on 13th May, and Lord Of The Lost are widely considered a strong top 10 contender with 'Blood & Glitter'. 

The band have also announced a special FREE ENTRY acoustic show at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. The performance starts at 10am and capacity is limited to 300 people on a first come first served basis.

2023 has been full of highlights for Lord Of The Lost: Starting with the band’s #1 debut on the Official German Album Charts and continuing with a sold-out club tour in Germany, Lord Of The Lost were also once again announced as European tour support for heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, joining them for ten shows. In addition, they will play many major metal festivals this summer.  The dark rock unit even got to perform for and meet King Charles III, and their success story so far is about to culminate in representing Germany in the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

Lord Of The Lost comment on the new video for 'Destruction Manual': “A video where the whole band is represented by women. That is something I've wanted to do for half of my life. But it wasn’t the right time until now: the moment has come! Next to Louisa, we have four outstanding female musicians from all over the world at our instruments, and we love the energy that all five of them radiate here. What can I say? We've never looked so stunning!"

Stream / purchase Blood & Glitter here: https://lnk.to/LOTL-BloodAndGlitter/napalmrecords

When conjuring the concept of Blood & Glitter, the band were inspired by the eponymous work of legendary music photographer Mick Rock, known for taking a large majority of the most famous photos of musicians in the 70s glam rock era. Lord Of The Lost visually immerse themselves in the lifestyle of that era and combine it with the new wave and pop sound of the 80s, building on their own familiar dark metal foundation. The result: a glamorous party with critical and direct messages.

Catch the band live:

09.05.23 UK - Liverool, Cavern Club (acoustic)

Blood & Glitter headline tour:

01.06.23 SE – Stockholm
09.06.23 DE – Zwickau
17.06.23 DE – Saarbrücken 
31.07.23 DE – Aschaffenburg
02.08.23 DE – Karlsruhe
23.09.23 UK – London
24.09.23 UK – Bristol
26.09.23 UK – Southampton
27.09.23 UK – Nottingham
28.09.23 UK – Wolverhampton
29.09.23 UK – Manchester
11.10.23 FR – Lille
12.10.23 FR – Savigny-le-Temple
13.10.23 FR – La Roche-sur-Yon

The Future Past tour 2023 with Iron Maiden:

03.06.23 FI – Tampere 
24.06.23 IE – Dublin 
26.06.23 UK – Glasgow 
28.06.23 UK – Leeds 
30.06.23 UK – Manchester 
03.07.23 UK – Nottingham 
04.07.23 UK – Birmingham 
07.07.23 UK – London 
26.07.23 DE – Dortmund 
01.08.23 DE – Munich 

Festivals 2023:
29.-30.04.23 BR – Sao Paulo / Summer Breeze Brazil
07.-10.06.23 PL – Gdansk / Mystic Festival
07.-10.06.23 AT – Nickelsdorf / Nova Rock
15.-18.06.23 FR – Clisson / Hellfest
05.-08.07.23 DE – Ballenstedt / Rockharz
13.-16.07.23 CZ – Zlin / Masters Of Rock
20.-22.07.23 FI – Laukaa / John Smith Rock Festival
29.-30.07.23 DE – Cologne / Amphi Festival
02.-05.08.23 DE – Wacken / Wacken Open Air
14.10.23 DE – Cologne / Unter Schwarzer Flagge
17.-18.11.23 DE – Leipzig / Gothic Meets Classic

Lord Of The Lost will support Powerwolf at three huge shows in Germany:

Oct 31: Düsseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle
Nov 02: Ravensburg Oberschwabenhalle
Nov 03: Bamberg Brose Arena

Lord Of The Lost are:
Chris Harms – Vocals, Guitar
Pi Stoffers – Guitar
Class Grenayde – Bass
Gared Dirge – Piano, Synths, Percussion, Guitar
Niklas Kahl – Drums

For more information:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Tiktok 
Napalm Records 

Photo Credit: GLK Media

Mercurial Bristol quartet Phoxjaw have released their new single 'icecreamwitch', from their forthcoming new album notverynicecream, to be released 26th May via Hassle Records.

Watch and stream 'icecreamwitch' here: https://youtu.be/5Pwm1ixOqAg

The band comment: "‘icecreamwitch’ is the fourth tasty treat from the up and coming album ‘notverynicecream’. The first taste of pace from the record, the track aims to take you on a sugary sweet insanity ride through twisted & demented guitar lines, tongue in cheek lyrical sprinkles, whilst intense and ever evolving rhythms rattle your frozen brain.

"Paired with a ‘Hateful Eight’ inspired video directed by Kieran Gallop & James Harris, the gang of rogue cowboys discover they’ve bitten off more than they can chew hunting for the infamous ‘icecreamwitch’ as she sends them all one by one into icy graves."

'icecreamwitch' follows the band's previous singles, 'apples', 'sungazer' and 'thesaddestsongever'.

Pre-order notverynicecream here: https://hasslerecords.ffm.to/notverynicecream

Watch 'apples' here: https://youtu.be/GdnO0cHiUX8

Watch the video for 'thesaddestsongever' here: https://youtu.be/EMZ8YKEbXLw

Watch the 'sungazer' video here: https://youtu.be/TyQlirPt-Fo

notverynicecream is another staggering release from one of the UK's most inventive and unusual bands. Eclectic, irreverent, titanically heavy and saturated throughout with a signature sense of British whimsy, the album will only see Phoxjaw's star rising further.

Written in various states of lockdown, notverynicecream is a glimpse into Phoxjaw's future mindset. A sugar-sweet sense of abandon covers darker feelings of loneliness, depression, and isolation. Where the band's debut album, Royal Swan, was a record of nationally-expressed extroversion, notverynicecream is Phoxjaw's declaration of introversion. Nihilism, nostalgia and suffering served in a sugary cone; progressive, punishing sonics glossed over with lustrous hyper-pop influences.

notverynicecream follows a busy period for the Bristolian oddballs - the group made their debut Download appearance in 2022, performed two magnificent sets at 2000trees, and have shortly returned from a sell-out tour with Norwegian deathpop group Blood Command, as well as their debut performance at Germany's Reeperbahn Festival.

Phoxjaw are:

Danny Garland - vocals/bass
Josh Gallop - guitar/keys
Kieran Gallop - drums
Alexander Share - guitar/vocals

For more information:
https://www.phoxjaw.com
https://www.facebook.com/phoxjawofficial/
https://twitter.com/phoxjaw
https://phoxjaw.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/phoxjaw/

Tracklisting: 

1: evermore
2: apples
3: icecreamwitch
4: sungazer
5: thesaddestsongever
6: tortoise 
7: dancingtrees
8: knives
9: thelastmackerel
10: shotgunlipstick
11: lastmancalledjohn
12: serpentsdripfromtheskies

American hard rock quartet Throw The Fight have released their triumphant new single 'Obey', from their forthcoming new album Strangeworld, to be released 30th June via Long Branch Records.

Stream 'Obey' and pre-order the new album here: https://throwthefightmn.lnk.to/Strangeworld

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/IvwtvgSa90w

Vocalist Kade Katz comments: "'Obey' is about feeling like you are stagnating. It's the sense of being dissociated from life as it moves around you - the feeling of forced complacency."

With over 100 million streams and nearly 700k monthly Spotify listeners, Throw The Fight have developed an impressive fanbase in their time as a group. Three years after the release of their latest album Settle Your Sins, the band mark their return as they officially announce the release of their upcoming full-length, entitled Strangeworld, released 30th June via Long Branch Records. Produced by Josh Gilbert and Joseph McQueen (As I Lay Dying, Bad Wolves, Light The Torch, Upon A Burning Body), the record is a potent distillation of the strengths of their catalogue and a huge step forward to the future. 

Live is the avenue in which Throw The Fight truly come to life and they've put countless miles on the road, winning over new fans in a grassroots, tried and true way: one city, one gig, and one venue at a time. The group has embarked on plenty of national touring. They've supported Bullet For My Valentine and Black Veil Brides on the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour and as direct support for All That Remains throughout Canada. They have also logged dates with Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach, Nonpoint, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and more, in addition to festivals such as The Vans Warped Tour, Rock Fest and Rock USA.

With a diehard audience earned the old-school way and modern rock anthems suited for the digital age, Throw The Fight celebrates two decades of passion and perseverance. Mixing soaring melodicism and heavy bombast without ever sacrificing hooks, the Minnesota outfit were built to last.

Throw The Fight are:
Kade Kastelitz - Vocals
Ryan Baustert - Guitar/Vocals
Kris Weiser - Guitar
Jeff Baustert - Drums

Tracklisting:

1 Cover Your Tracks
2 Obey
3 Lost Without You
4 Sorry, Not Sorry
5 Hourglass
6 Shadow Self
7 Lost in the Lies
8 Snake Mountain
9 Wake up!

Photo Credit: LBPHOTO

UK Tech-Fest has announced that its 10th edition, which will take place at the Newark Showground on 29th June - 3rd July 2023, will be the last of its kind.

Over the past decade the UK Tech-Fest experience has become known as one of the most fun and inclusive events in the UK calendar, and a place to see some of the most innovative current acts, and tomorrow's game changers. A hugely tough decision by the organisers, challenges in the event industry, plus some that are deeply personal, have made this right time to close this chapter of UK Tech-Fest. Please read the statement below for details.

UK Tech-Fest 2023 will be fans last chance to experience the 4-day camping festival, so it's a must for any passionate festival goer's calendar this summer.

Statement from the organisers:

"We’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and we have decided that this year will be the last ever Tech-Fest of its kind.

"Tech-Fest was born in 2011 with the original plan of a one-day event. You, the fans, had belief in the concept and that has been the driving force since day one. We set out to create a place where bands and fans could unite, where we could bring this community together, chill and listen to our favourite music in one place, and that’s what we’ve done.

"This is our tenth festival, TEN whole years (I mean technically 12 years, thanks covid for messing that up). It’s been over a decade of Tech-Fest, 100s of bands, all our amazing volunteers (who we couldn't do this without), and most of all you, the Tech-Fam .

"Bands have always been at the heart of the festival. We’ve proudly hosted the first UK shows for many international bands including Skyharbor, Drewsif Stalin, Plini, Agent Fresco, Slice The Cake, Project Mishram, Destiny Potato, Artificial Language, Siamese, Anima Tempo and many others. We have also supported many UK bands to play their first shows at Tech-Fest, including Hacktivist in 2012, Loathe in 2016, Sleep Token as our secret act in 2018 and Vexed in 2019.

"We’ve kept our prices low to keep it affordable for you, to give you that festival camping experience that’s not going to cost you the earth. No one enjoys an overcrowded campsite and miles to walk through mud to the nearest toilet. At Newark it’s flat with never any mud, even when we got all that rain. If you know, you KNOW.

"These last few years have been hard ones. With the current state of the country, economy and the knock-on effect this has on the music industry, it is no longer sensible to continue running Tech-Fest in its current form. On top of that we have suffered a lot of personal loss which has taken its toll. Two dear friends of Tech-Fest were sadly taken way too soon - Ben Radcliffe who has been at Tech-Fest since day one, and Karl Riley, who used to play drums in Carcer City. Then earlier this year my (Simon's) father, Steve, passed away. Steve had been at the heart of Tech-Fest and believed in us and this idea from the start. In order to grieve properly and adjust to my life as it is now, I wish to take a hiatus from organising an annual event. I need space to deal with my family affairs and to recover, rest and regroup. I hope you all understand.

"It's been a hell of a journey, and a steep learning curve, so we decided that this year – our tenth anniversary – will be the last Tech-Fest of its kind.

"Let us make this clear... This is not the end of Tech-Fest! However we are taking this opportunity as a new beginning. The main event will return in a different form down the line. We will still have a Techabilitation 2023 to look forward to and we're currently looking to do other club shows around the country too.

"If you have been always meaning to come to Tech-Fest, then this is the year to do it! 

"Join us to celebrate this last decade, the bands and the Tech-Fam for one last awesome time."

"With love - Simon, Helen and Amanda x"

Legendary technical death metallers Suffocation will headline the Friday, with deathcore heavyweights Chelsea Grin headlining the Saturday, and modern technical metal pioneers Born Of Osiris closing the festival on the Sunday. They are joined by 18: Aborted (UK exclusive), Loathe, Of Virtue, The Five Hundred, Cage Fight, Despite Exile, The Cartographer, Pulse., Azure., InRetrospect, Shell Beach, Chaos.Sequence, Karmanjakah, Netherhall, Draconian Reign, Akkadian, Lost To Light, Swarm6ix, Oceans Ate Alaska, Kublai Khan TX, Hacktivist, Heriot, Paledusk,  Graphic Nature, She Must Burn, Anima Tempo, Sworn Amongst, In Fear, Atlantis Chronicles, Armed For Apocalypse, Arcaeon, Forlorn, Starved, Dreameater, Glass Grave, To Obey A Tyrant, Cave Killer, Glower, From Her Ashes plus more to be announced.

Tickets are priced at £79.99 + £20 camping, and can be purchased here: http://uktechfest.gigantic.com/
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/3150546951853429

2023 sponsors and partners:
Pins & Knuckles Merchandise - https://www.pinsandknucklesmerch.com
Strandberg - https://strandbergguitars.com
Aristides - https://aristidesinstruments.com
Hold Tight - https://holdtight.co
Loki Films - https://www.facebook.com/LokiFilms
JWA Creations - https://www.facebook.com/JWACreations2016
D'Addario / Evans / Promark - https://www.daddario.com/
Moomin Merchandise - https://www.moomin-merchandise.com/
Lux CBD - https://thisisluxcbd.com
Capsaarx - https://capsaarx.com

UK Tech-Fest online:
https://uktechfest.com/
https://www.facebook.com/uktechfest

About UK Tech-Fest:

Following the huge success of the first UK Tech-Fest selling out in 2012, the festival went outdoors in 2013 hosting headliners Scar Symmetry, Veil Of Maya and TesseracT. 2014 saw UK Tech-Fest move to the prestigious Newark Showground hosting Sikth's second show after their reunion, and the following year UK Tech-Fest 2015 hosted an exclusive UK appearance from Decapitated. UK Tech-Fest 2016 - The Fifth Anniversary - was a milestone in this festival's career, by far their biggest and best edition to date hosting Animals As Leaders and exclusive appearances from Between The Buried And Me and Protest The Hero. UK Tech-Fest 2017 had its heaviest line-up to date, 2018 had its largest ever attendance and in 2019 solidified its reputation as the UK's most forward-thinking metal festival. 2022 saw the festival's triumphant return after the COVID19 pandemic, headlined by Scar Symmetry, The Ocean and God is an Astronaut, confirming UK Tech-Fest as one of the most important events in the UK calendar.

The ever-mercurial, boundary-pushing UK rock quartet Sugar Horse have released a typically left-field cover of the Tears For Fears classic, 'Head Over Heels'.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/NhTQKB8RCR4

Stream: https://li.sten.to/HeadOverHeels

The band comment: "In 1985 Tears For Fears released a record that defined pop music for the second half of the 80s. Stadium sized and absolutely rammed with hooks, it transgresses its resolutely 1980s sound by sheer songwriting quality alone.

"It’s a song we’ve wanted to have a crack at covering for a while now and I think the fact it’s still clearly that song after our hamfisted mangling, is testament to just how genius Roland and Curt were. 

"To me, it’s a song about passion and the obsessive pursuit of said passion. With all the frustration and conflict that creates with others who may not share or understand that kind of compulsion. It’s something that’s actually very close to my heart and something that allowed us to really throw ourselves into this tune.

"If Roland or Curt end up reading this, can I just say a big sorry for putting distortion and screaming all over your masterpiece. Feel free to write us a curt email or nine."

Sugar Horse will be touring the following dates:

May 2: Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
May 4: Bristol, Dareshack
May 5: Kingston, Fighting Cocks
May 6: Birmingham, Asylum II

Tickets: https://li.sten.to/shmaytour

Sugar Horse are riding high following the release of their storied collaborative EP Waterloo Teeth, which features members of Heriot, Conjurer, IDLES, Biffy Clyro, and many more. 

A lot of people take the name Sugar Horse to be a drug reference - perhaps fitting for a band that sound like the last moments of a three-day binge. Darting wildly between dark/light, pain/bliss, sacred/profane, Sugar Horse are unpredictable and unrestrained.

Formed in what is now considered to be the utopian dreamscape of 2015, the band grew slowly at first. Far from fully formed, but steadily gaining limbs, heads and vital organs. Finally, 2019’s DRUJ followed swiftly by 2020’s DRUGS saw them hit on a relentless stride of eclectic releases that simultaneously confused and entranced audiences.

2021 saw the band encamp in a former Lutheran church to record their debut album, The Live Long After, releasing it via Brighton’s own Small Pond Records. Publications such as The Quietus describing the record as “shift[ing] dispositions fluidly, taking elements of extreme aggression alongside floaty Post-Metal” and Echoes & Dust calling it “a monumental achievement”. The album took every disparate element that Sugar Horse previously employed and amplified them, while juxtaposing each next to each other, with genuinely unpredictable and exciting consequences.

2022 saw no relent from the band’s fast pace release schedule, as they put out an anthemic shoegaze single in 'Pictures Of Dogs Having Sex', followed swiftly by the Waterloo Teeth EP. A release that paired Sugar Horse’s terrifying eclecticism with guest appearances from twelve other artists in just four short(ish) songs. Each artist coming from a different area of the modern British music scene, whether that be world conquering post-punk bass lines from IDLES’ Adam Devonshire, heavy titans Conjurer and Pupil Slicer’s throat crippling wails, or a shredding guitar solo from Biffy Clyro/Oceansize axe wielder Mike Vennart. The EP packs in an album’s worth of genre mutilating twists and turns into just 25 minutes of music.

Purchase: https://sugarhorse.bandcamp.com/album/waterloo-teeth

Sugar Horse are:

Ashley Tubb (Vocals/Guitar)
Jake Healy (Baritone Guitar, Keyboards)
Chris Howarth (Bass)
Martin Savage (Drums)

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/sugarhorseruinedmybirthday
https://www.instagram.com/sugarhorse.are.awful
https://twitter.com/sugarhorse666

About Fat Dracula Records:

Alas, 2023 saw the demise of the universally adored Small Pond Records. Such is life in the indie music sphere. Being insatiable control freaks, akin to tyrannical European royal families, Sugar Horse decided to seize the means of production with the help of fellow commie bastard, Small Pond founder Vlad Mateikov.

…And so Fat Dracula Records was born. A vehicle for the band to release their own music, on their own terms. So join the insurgency and give us your hard earned money.

Photo Credit: Scott Chalmers

Ferocious four-piece Saint Agnes have unveiled 'Animal', the second single / video taken from new album Bloodsuckers, set for release on 21st July via Spinefarm.

Watch the video to 'Animal' here: https://youtu.be/LA0p0SCNbx0

Stream the single and pre-save the album here: https://sntagnes.lnk.to/BLOODSUCKERSID

Vocalist / multi-instrumentalist Kitty A. Austen commented "'Animal' is about waving your freak flag high, it’s about being who you authentically are inside and revelling in it. It’s a song for the misfits who boldly walk a different path with pride."

Following their triumphant sold-out London headline show, Saint Agnes will next join Monster Magnet on their spring / summer European run, before returning to the UK to perform at 2000trees festival.

Saint Agnes are also making big waves in the gaming world, with the release of Dead Island 2 last week. The game, which features the Saint Agnes song 'And They All Fall Down', has already sold over a million copies.

Hailing from the UK, Saint Agnes are all about honest lyrics, intense vocal performances, plus rage-fuelled music intended to give a voice to those closer to the fringe than the centre.

As much gang as band, Saint Agnes seek to empower those who’ve been battered and bruised yet refuse to lie down, and it’s a thread that runs deep within Bloodsuckers – SA’s first album for Spinefarm, the follow-up to 2019’s Welcome To Silvertown, issued on the band’s own label.
 
In addition to … Silvertown, Saint Agnes have released a number of singles, videos and EPs, embarked on headline tours in both the UK and Europe, and appeared at a host of festivals, including Download, 2000trees, Isle of Wight and Kendal Calling.
 
One thing’s for sure, it’s got nothing to do with rule-books or playing it safe…
 
From the title track (also lead single / video) onwards, Bloodsuckers is a genre-jumping body of work, taking in elements of metal, punk, industrial and grunge, without being bound by any specific style; the 11 tracks here come straight from the source, largely self-produced and mixed (NIN collaborator Sean Beavan lends his mixing and production skills to ‘Follow You’), and this self-contained approach provides an extra emotional weight throughout, with doom trap provocateur and Kerrang! cover artist Mimi Barks further fuelling the chaos on the short, sharp shock that is ‘Body Bag’.
 
Created in the months following the unexpected and untimely death of Kitty’s mother, Bloodsuckers explores a number of themes, including mental illness, pent-up rage, undying love and, of course, grief; from the trash-metal howl into the night that is ‘Bloodsuckers’ right through to broken ballad, ‘This Is Not The End’, a poignant reflection of Kitty’s still-raw emotions, this is a call to outsiders everywhere…

Concludes Kitty: “Creating this album gave me a reason to get to my feet at a time when I really wasn’t sure if I could. I’ve tried to put everything I’ve been feeling into it, all the pain, the rage, the grief, even the unexpected moments of beauty and belief. I hope it makes you feel less alone. I hope it makes you feel bigger, badder and stronger. We might be damaged but that doesn’t mean we’re worthless. This is a record for the defeated, the crushed. We might be broken but that doesn’t mean we’re not whole. Bloodsuckers forever, Saint Agnes forever.”

Saint Agnes are:-
 
Kitty A. Austen - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Jon James Tufnell - Guitar, Vox, Bass
Andrew Head - Drums
Ryan Brown - Bass

Saint Agnes online:
https://www.facebook.com/wearesaintagnes
https://www.instagram.com/wearesaintagnes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZVjtrzewE0VgjsG9PONcEQ

Tracklisting:

1. Bloodsuckers
2. Animal
3. I Mean Nothing To you
4. Outsider
5. This Is Not The End
6. Follow You
7. I Am
8. At War With Myself
9. Middle Finger
10. Body Bag (ft. Mimi Barks)
11. Forever And Ever